The subjective experience of coding in different programming languages
a day ago
- #programming
- #coding-experience
- #synesthesia
- Different programming languages evoke distinct physical sensations.
- C-like languages with nested parentheses feel precarious, like balancing on a high wire.
- Functional languages, like Haskell, feel like navigating underground tunnels in the dark.
- Writing firmware is described as precision work, requiring deliberate keystrokes.
- SSH-ing into a device feels like teleporting and shrinking in size.
- Using GitHub Copilot with TypeScript feels like flying or making great leaps.
- Transitioning from TypeScript to typeless Python feels disorienting and unreliable.
- Deep coding sessions require time to 'surface' and adjust to interruptions.
- Context switching in coding is likened to needing time to 'move the mental stack.'
- Some engineers experience synesthesia, associating code with physical or visual sensations.
- Systems understanding is described as a visceral, embodied sense of 'rightness.'
- Great engineers may perceive code differently, akin to chess players sensing board patterns.
- The author wonders if code editors could enhance synesthetic intuitions for better coding.
- The subjective experience of programming and its study is of interest to the author.